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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. lean — to bend
  13. board — to get on
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. cold — not warm
  16. tube — a container
  17. tube — the underground
  18. scale — size or range
  19. cold — an illness
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. scale — in music
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. mouse — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com